1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns orthopedic footwear for post-surgical or diabetic patients.
2. Description of Related Art
Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
In current technology, post-surgical or diabetic patients use orthopedic footwear with a modified bottom sole that makes the foot take a determined and forced inclination. Decompression is caused either only on the forefoot or only on the heel, avoiding contact of the injured part of the foot.
At this moment, post-surgical or diabetic patients use orthopedic footwear on the market which decompresses the forefoot or the heel of the patient with modifications on the front or back part of the bottom sole. A forced inclination is allowed to the foot in this way, obtaining the total absence of contact of the injured front or the back parts of the foot on the ground.
The bottom sole of this footwear is rigid and has a flat middle part, which has total contact with the ground. For three quarters thereof, the bottom sole is raised at the front or back part at an inclination of about 30 degrees.
The particular bottom sole of the above-mentioned orthopedic footwear presents the inconvenience of a difficult deambulation caused by the forced inclination of the patient's foot.
Furthermore, all of the orthopedic footwear for diabetics on the market at present, have a bottom sole with a completely flat part, which has total contact with the ground which provokes the drawback that the sheer force is concentrated in the corresponding plantar area.
A type of sole for orthopedic footwear, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,210 to Antar, is made up of a middle flat part bordered by a front part and a back part. The front part and back part are both convex towards the outer side in such a way to determine a rolling motion during the deambulation. This movement is caused by the total contact of the middle flat part of the bottom sole with the ground and by the action of the back part of the bottom sole which comes into contact with the ground by a heightened position to the ground underfoot like the front part.
The drawback of the Antar patent is that the middle flat part of the bottom sole having total contact with the surface underneath all the central plantar area is under a constant sheer force.
The aim of the present invention is to provide sanitary orthopedic footwear, for use by post-surgical or diabetic patients, produced using shock-absorbing and antibacterial material. There is a bottom sole, conceived on the ortho-dynamic concept and characterized by a ramp that allows cushioning of the shock during the landing phase of the foot, in such a way to determine a correct deambulation in the central phase of the march and a rotation in the take-off phase. This is made possible by the front and back parts of the bottom sole that are both convex and the part that has contact with the ground, that is only 8-12 mm long and on the Chopart line so as to have a constant instability of this bottom sole. This deliberate instability is necessary to avoid the concentration of the sheer force on the user's foot and in particular in the tarsal or metatarsal part.
Another aim of the present invention is to allow the use of sanitary orthopedic footwear in post-surgical or diabetic patient care, which can also be adapted to a highly-bandaged foot. The bottom sole of the present patent application, which is ambidextrous, includes two or more variations in four or more sides. The orthopedic footwear for post-surgical or diabetic patients can easily be used by patients who have different needs.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide sanitary orthopedic footwear for post-surgical or diabetic patients, characterized by a particular rigidity made possible by inserting a very rigid and crushproof insert in the inside of the bottom. This insert has a particular design and is made using antibacterial materials; it is washable and light.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide sanitary orthopedic footwear for post-surgical or diabetic patients characterized by a bottom sole having a groove in which bandages and/or medicines can be inserted. Two or more layers of particular plantar insole are characterized by modular and interchangeable elements, which can also be inserted. These allow localized sheer force reduction corresponding to diabetic foot ulcerations or plantar lesions.
These and other aims are achieved by the invention that is the subject of the present patent application relative to sanitary orthopedic footwear for post-surgical or diabetic patients in which the ambidextrous bottom sole is based on a ortho-dynamic concept, including a groove of at least 10 mm in depth. The off-loading plantar insole and/or medicine can be inserted in the groove. Each of the front and back parts of the bottom sole are convex. The only contact point with the surface underneath is on the Chopart line and is limited to 8-12 mm. For these reasons, during the deambulation the bottom sole is not, at any time, completely and continuously in contact with the surface underneath. This determines its constant, in this way avoiding sheer force on the patient's foot and in particular in the metatarsal, tarsal and central parts.